Champagne bottle closure



June 14, 1960 c. A. SCHULTZ CHAMPAGNE BOTTLE CLOSURE Filed Feb. 25, 1958 ATTORNEY United States Pa h CHAMPAGNE BorrLE CLOSURE Filed Feb. 25, less, Ser. No. 717,448 1 tc 211 The present invention relates to a champagne bottle closure and more particularly to a champagne bottle closure having a double sealing action and a readily attached and readily removed securing band.

In the marketing of champagne, it has been found that the presently used closures for the champagne bottle do not always efiect a seal which is tight enough to hold the contents of the bottle that are under pressure. As a result, when the bottle is opened, there is a noticeable absence of the familiar and expected pop sound, together with the absence of the anticipated forceful ejection of the stopper from the bottle. This failure to efiectively seal the champagne in the bottle in all cases has two adverse eiiects: first, there is a danger that the contents of the bottle will be either spoiled or unappetizing; and second, there will be disappointment by the purchaser of the bottle because of the lack of both the popping sound and the above-mentioned forceful ejection of the stopper from the bottle.

It has been found that although the contents of the bottle were quite satisfactory from the point of view of enjoyment of the beverage, nevertheless, the absence of the pop sound and the failure of the stopper to eject have led purchasers to believe that the champagne was inferior, and they have thus avoided purchasing the same brand of champagne again.

In the present day closing of bottles of champagne, there is in almost universal use a system involving a stopper made of a piece of cork that is held in the neck of the bottle by wire that is wrapped around the bottle neck and this forms a relatively expensive closure.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a bottle closure which will insure the sealing of both the gas and liquid contents in a bottle.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a bottle closure characterized by an extremely effective double sealing of the stopper to the bottle.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a closure for a bottle wherein a stopper is securely held in the neck of a bottle by a securing band.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a bottle closure wherein a securing band is provided which is relatively easily removed, thus permitting the removal of the band and the opening of the bottle by one having no previous experience with that type of bottle closure.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the instant invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, with parts broken away, of a bottle and closure in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of a stopper in accordance with the present invention; and

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view similar to Fig. 1, but showing the parts in greater detail.

2,940,627 Patented June 14, 1960 ice , Referring now to the drawingathere is shown in Fig. 1 the upper partof a bottle 10 having a generally elongated neck 11 with a smooth inner bore 12. At the end of the neck 11 there is a downwardly and outwardly ex: tending annular lip 13.. A head 14 is on the exterior of the neck 11 and has its upper portions at substantially the, same level as the lip :13. There is a recessed'portion 15 immediately below the bead 14. g

- A stopper 20, shown in Fig. 2 made of polyethylene, has a crown 21 adapted to be readily grasped and a recess 22 therebelow. Below the recess 22 is an outward ly extending flange 23 having an upper surface '24 and a lower surface 25 which is of a shape corresponding to the lip 13 of the bottle 10. Beneath the under surface 25 of the flange 23, the stopper 20 has a neck 26 which preferably has a bore 27 therein and sealing grooves 28 on the exterior thereof.

In Fig. 3, there may be seen in greater detail the polyethylene stopper 20 in the bore 12 of the neck 11. As may be readily seen, there is a seal es ablished between the neck 26 of stopper 20 and the bore 12 of the neck 11. There is a second seal established between the substantial surface contact of the underside 25 of the flange 23 of stopper 20 with the lip 13. The stopper 20 is forced into the bottle neck 11 when the bottle has been filled and thus the forcing'is with great efiort in order to securely place the stopper into the bottle. In order to hold the stopper 20 in the bottle 10, and taking into cognizance the great pressure within the bottle 10, either at the time the stopper 20 is placed in the neck thereof or at some later time, there is provided a securing band 30 which is preferably made of aluminum. Band 30 is characterized by a body portion 31, an upper inwardly turned flange 32 which enters into the recess 22 of the stopper 20, and a lower inwardly turned flange 33 which enters into the recess 15 of the neck 11. It will be noted that the flange 23 of the stopper 20 is substantially the same diameter as the head 14, whereby there is presented a substantially cylindrical joint surface between the bottle and the stopper, and it is upon this surface that the body portion 31 of the securing band 30 rests. As seen in Fig. 1, the band 30 has a downwardly extending tab 34 which may be readily grasped when it is desired to remove the stopper 20 from the bottle 10.

It may be readily seen that when it is desired to close a bottle 10 which has been filled, the stopper 20 is forcefully pushed into the bore 12 of the neck 10, and that there results the aforementioned double sealing action. Thereafter, the band 30 is applied and the flanges 32 and 33 thereof formed by crimping over the marginal portions of a normally flat band.

When it is desired to use the contents of the bottle 10, it is only necessary to grasp the tab 34 and to pull it upwardly, thus tearing the band 30 completely across. It is thereafter a simple matter to remove the band 30 by spreading it from its encircling configuration, and then by pushing or pulling the crown 21 of the stopper 20, the stopper 20 may be removed from the bottle 10.

It may be readily seen from consideration of the above that there is provided a bottle closure which will efiective- 1y seal a bottle in which the contents are under pressure by providing a double seal for the bottle, and also that there is provided a simple, economical and secure band to hold the stopper in the bottle, this band being readily removable.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A closure for a bottle comprising a bottle, an annular B22315 mn n 1g and bead on 15% t 'n'm. 9i ,sa bottle m ed b qw a d Jim a. 7 Vresilienfst'opper hayi'n'g'ifdfdfa bulbous crown, an outwardly extending flange, and a hollow neck, said stopper 7 siirfe the firn inr e si nme m q iabem mr 'sm p i e-s w m in mwmm a unm; rcro i k and a metallic; securing encircling wardly turned flangeengaged in said recess onthe upper 7 surface of theiiiafig'df*th"stol5Pf; a rower inwardly turned flange engaging the gecess of said neck, a body portion between said inwardly turned flanges, and a downwardly extending tab, whereby said ban'd is continuously supported by said flange and beadthroughout' the height thereof. i g

Fail-win June}, 1957 

